


Opia

by bubbllygum



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Bottom Tyler, Cults, Dark, Gay, Horror, M/M, Mild Gore, Religious Conflict, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Top Josh, awkward tyler, bxb - Freeform, dark themes, ill add tags as i go, josh is gay as hell, joshler - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 06:49:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18115496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubbllygum/pseuds/bubbllygum
Summary: Tyler's new in a town of horrors, but he doesn't even realize. Josh has been here forever, and he wants to leave.





	1. i

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic in awhile, but I'm really inspired to write, so let's hope I can make this sensible for y'all

It's too early in the morning to pay attention to the congregation, to the voices singing out. Hence why Tyler began sketching in his journal the moment his large family took their seat in the pews of the gothically designed building.

Service just began; most of the well dressed people in the room are standing, some with hymn books in hand, others who know the songs by heart and are just signing out by memory.

But Tyler, he's sitting, the mechanical pencil in his hand sketching over the small journal's paper a depiction of the large, gnarled wooden cross behind the pulpit, hanging on the wall. His mother is sitting to his right, occasionally sending him a warning glare that he needs to stand up and sing as well, but he's too weary from lack of sleep the previous night.

This town was still new to them, this being only their second time being in this church congregation. They'd only moved two weeks ago to the small, relatively secluded little town near a gloomy, dismal forest, and Tyler hated the feeling this place gave him.

Many of the houses were old and had simply been repaired so they were livable. Such as the home they now lived in.

All of the homes had this gothic design; the town was very proud of all the residents having been descendants of the settlers of this land, the houses having apparently been built by their grandfathers' grandfathers or something or another. Now that a family who hadn't descended from the founders lived here, Tyler wondered what everyone else thought of them. The Josephs. Were they annoyed with them? Scornful? Resentful? Or were they glad to have new people after all this time? Everyone seemed kind enough to them. He wanted to know if it was a façade.

The only reason they'd moved here was because the one empty home this place was offering was cheap, something they could afford. Tyler's father had lost his job, meaning their old home had to be left and this new home be occupied.

Tyler still didn't like it, even though his little siblings seemed to love it.

A sigh escaped his plump, soft lips, his chocolate eyes settling on the preacher as he walked up to the pulpit. The congregation took their seats in the long pews lining the walls and middle of the relatively large room, but it was clear most if not all of the town was here.

"Put that away and listen," the scrawny brunette heard his mother hiss; he flinched and swiftly shut his journal. It made a small clap as the leather cover snapped closed so fast, but nobody glanced towards him except for Maddie, his younger sister sitting on his left.

Tyler sighed again as he slipped the small booklet into his jacket, popping open the first button of his polo shirt as it felt like it was choking him. It felt like everything in this room was choking him actually.

Dark eyes gazed over the candles sitting on stands and the ones sitting on the window sills. He could imagine a dark figure shoving the thin, melting wax down his throat and keeping it there until he passed out, gagging on it and choking from the lack of air being permitted to his lungs. 

The thought sent shivers crawling through his skin; he swiftly turned to watch the older man, Pastor Dun, begin his sermon with simply discussing the main idea of today's 'lesson.'

It was really hard to focus like his mother and father were expecting him, their oldest child, to do. His eyes kept falling on paintings or sculptures or just simple objects he'd seen before at their old church he used to love, but now everything seem to have a darker meaning to it. As if this whole building had some sort of satanic bond to hell instead of a godly bond to heaven.

He cleared his throat, leaning to his side to murmur to his mother. "I'm going to the restroom." He didn't bother looking to her for acknowledgement, just standing up, shuffling past his brothers and father and making it to one of the middle aisles.

Polished shoes hit deep crimson carpet; he was glad when he pushed open the door to the sanctuary and stepped into the hallways. A deep breath of the relief ran through his as he made his way to the men's bathroom, pushing open the door to be met with another boy washing his hands.

He said nothing, smiling at the teen politely and stepping up to the counter. His skeletal fingers rested on the dark marble countertop for a moment before he turned on the tap, cupping his hands together to fill them with slightly cold water and splashing it on his rosy, sun-kissed face.

The other boy watched him, still scrubbing at his hands. "What's he talking about that's got you so upset?" The teen's voice had a chuckle to it, as if he understood Tyler's actions.

But Pastor Dun's preaching hadn't even caught up to him, nor phased him. Mainly because he hadn't been listening. More so wondering about candles being used to choke him and if the communion wine was actually blood. How could he tell the teen of similar age that the whole town just gave him the creeps? Surely the other's family's been here for years; he didn't dare speak the truth.

"Nothing," Tyler sighed, smiling so fast and small the other probably missed it. "I'm just really not big on Sundays." That wasn't a lie at least.

The boy nodded as he turned off the sink and grabbed a paper towel, but there was a gleam in his mocha hues that told Tyler that he didn't believe him. But he didn't press, so both were fine.

"You're part of that new family in town, right?" the stranger questioned, throwing away the towel in the trash.

Tyler nodded, tired eyes looking towards the other.

The boy smiled; it looked genuine and kind. "Sick."

"Sick." The brunette snorted. He felt sick.

"I think you know my dad already," the other began, holding out his large hand towards Tyler who was wiping his hands on his shirt to dry it. "I'm Joshua. Preacher's kid."

"My dad used to be a preacher," Tyler mumbled, shaking Joshua's hand which was so much stronger compared to his dainty, skinny one. "I'm Tyler."

It felt awkward really, in Tyler's opinion. To meet someone in the bathroom, where he'd intended on getting away from everyone and cool down for a moment. But Josh seemed overjoyed by the way his smile dug into his cheeks, causing the corners of his eyes to wrinkle. Tyler couldn't deny it was a gorgeous grin.

Josh chortled. "Well now we're both preachers' kids. It's sick to meet you, Ty Guy," he responded eagerly.

The slightly taller boy didn't really know how to compensate the eagerness. He just grinned softly and nodded, carefully pulling his nimble hand back and running it through his own fluffy mess of chestnut hair. Did he just say bye and leave? Or did he keep on carrying this tedious conversation that was making him feel like his heart was going to just stop from anxiety.

"Don't let his words bother you," Josh spoke up after silence ate up the room; Tyler sent him a confused look, prompting him to elaborate. "My dad. Don't listen to everything he says. He doesn't really know what he's talking about all the time."

Tyler's lips turn into 'o' at that, just nodding. "I wasn't really listening too much actually," he snickered, shrugging.

But Joshua's smile didn't change. His expression of an ecstatic grin just stayed the same, but Tyler could see the corner of his lips twitch as if he was struggling to keep the smile. The brunette just stared, replaying what he said and quickly correcting himself.

"Oh." The scrawny boy cleared his throat, looking down to the tile beneath their feet. "Sorry, no, I didn't mean that to sound so rude, I'm not-"

"What?" Josh's smile faltered. "No, don't apologize, I don't really listen either anymore." Tyler's eyes met the shorter boy's gaze. "Gets boring sometimes, doesn't it?"

There wasn't a moment of pause before Tyler nodded, glancing to the two of them in the mirror. Josh was leaning his hip on the counter, a small grin still playing on his lips. The brunette almost found it to be peculiar, but then again, everyone in this town was odd in the head it seemed. Compared to all of them, Josh was probably the sanest person in the entire area next to Tyler and his family.

Josh chuckled at what the younger assumed was his reaction; he gently punched the boy's shoulder. "We should probably get back to the sermon," he sighed, the grin falling to a grimace that fell just as quickly. "I'll see you, Ty Guy."

Hesitantly, Tyler gave him a grin. "Bye, Josh," he murmured, waiting until the boy had left the room to stare at himself in the mirror.

If the nicest person he'd met here was still giving him venomous feelings, he didn't know how he was going to survive.


	2. ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler's lonely, and his mom just wants him to do something besides pout.

Rain was falling hard, breezing through the trees surrounding the small town and landing on the asphalt of the roads. It brought out this smell in the noon air, something gentle yet stirring.

Tyler sat, slouched back and sitting on the bench on the porch. He was told to; his parents got sick of him sitting in his room all the time while his little siblings had already made friends around to go and hangout with. 

But really, he didn't find a need to befriend anyone else here besides the boy he'd clicked with down the street, Brendon. He was seventeen; soon he'd leave and be out of everyone's hair. Nobody would care if he left, and he found that to be good. Just slipping away sounded nice. Maybe he wouldn't get this sick feeling in his gut anymore.

"Hey."

The voice made the scrawny boy flinch, swiftly turning his head to see his mom, holding the front door open so they could hear one another. 

In response he sneered, looking away from her and out onto the street, arms crossed over his chest. 

She furrowed her brows at his actions, sighing that motherly sigh and Tyler just knew he was about to be lectured. 

"You said you talked with the Dun's oldest boy didn't you?" she began, letting the door shut behind her and slowly stepping closer to the bench, her socks caught on the dry wood as rain pelted the roof of the porch. 

The teen didn't respond at first. He remembers the end of church a few days ago telling his parents about Josh, about his friendliness, but also about the eerie sensation that crawled underneath his skin at his presence. They scoffed at his admission of skepticism of the town's people, which only fueled his resentment.

Tyler shuffles uncomfortable, eyeing his mother who's now also looking out at the pouring rain. "Yeah," he finally answered, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip and scowling at the fact that his voice cracked. 

His mother looks at him knowingly, her shoulders raising and falling in a casual shrug. "I bet he'd love to get you know you better. It'll be good for you anyways."

Tyler snorted immediately at that, raising his brows and widening his eyes, but not gaining eye contact with her. "I bet he'd love to suck my blood too," he grumbled, glaring at the house across the street where Maddie was playing with a little girl name Elaine in the rain. They were having fun; Tyler secretly yearned to have someone to mess around with as well. He would go out and pay the Uries a quick visit, but they were out on a family trip; he couldn't. 

"Tyler Robert," his mother scolded, frowning at her son. She sighed again. "Just say hi to him at least? It'd take you two minutes to walk over to their house."

The brunette furrowed his brows. "Yeah, I'll say hi, they'll drag me inside and I'll end up being their next meal," he hissed. He was being childish really; even he knew that. But that didn't mean he was going to stop.

Ever since he voiced his distrust of the residents of the town the past Sunday, he hadn't held back anymore. He genuinely believed he'd step into the Dun household and Josh would end up butchering him alive. Probably, he'd just shove Tyler on the kitchen counter and carve out all that he wanted, maybe his eyes, maybe his heart, hell, maybe he'd just torture Tyler until the boy just died from fright alone. It was just that smile. It screamed lies and a façade. 

"That's a little far, Hun," she mumbled precariously, snapping Tyler out of his gory daydream of Josh fingering the sockets of his eyes. He didn't know where all these thoughts had been coming from recently, they just kept haunting him.

Shivers ran through his flesh. God, he felt sick again. Sicker than usual as he always did after those little side thoughts. It was an ill feeling he couldn't properly explain, but it made his heart clench and struggle to continue its mundane job of keeping him alive. He gagged on spit from the sensations creeping up his spine, quickly clearing his throat. "I know I know, it's just-"

"The people here are creepy?" She was mocking him. 

Tyler glanced to his mother. She was just looking at him with such a condescending gleam in her hues; he wanted to curl up and disappear whenever his mom gave that look to him. "They are though," he practically whispered, frowning. 

She grinned softly. "I don't think so. They're their own little community up here, and yeah it's sheltered, but they don't seem odd at all." Her words weren't helping the young boy feel any better. "Is it the homes here? Because I get that. The Victorian design does have this gloomy feeling to it."

Tyler wants to laugh, but he doesn't. "I didn't say the houses freaked me out, I said the people freaked me out." She was about to retort, but he was quicker. "You can't say you haven't noticed how robotic everyone is. Okay, so the Uries and Blacks and Padells are all normal, but everyone else is just a zombie with makeup."

The woman just shook her head, snickering at her son. Tyler's enthusiasm tapered because of that. She thought he was crazy probably. Or bitter. "The Duns are the sweetest people I've met," she spoke with a grin, only making the brunette plunge into a deeper state of annoyance. "Honestly, sweetie, you just need to get to know them more."

"I'm sure they'd love to get to know their food better," he growled, earning him a very light, but still shocking smack to his cheek. He should probably stop with the cannibal insinuations now before his own family cooked him. 

For a moment there was silence save for the rain that'd started to fade, now a gentle drizzle, and the sound of Madison and her friend giggling and shrieking as Elaine's little dog got mud all over the two. It made Tyler smile. 

"I'm sure Joshua would love to visit," his mother finally muttered, a hint of anger to her voice. 

Tyler's eyes widened, looking to her. Was she seriously upset that he was vocal on his skepticism for the residents' sanity? Apparently so, as she stepped back inside the home and Tyler got up fast, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

His father seemed to be preparing himself food, completely oblivious to what whining and complaining was most likely about to go down between his wife and son.

After toeing off his sandals, Tyler rushed to his mother who had her cell phone in hand. He was going to die, both figuratively and literally if she called that boy's family. "Mom, don't invite them, please. I'll stop talking crap I just don't wanna have to deal with that kid."

She chuckled, smiling softly as if she was doing something good and not something that was going to make Tyler scream and throw a fit. Like all seventeen year old boys should do when they're upset. "I'm not inviting their whole family," she explained calmly, her dainty fingers dancing across the screen as she read off a number on a sheet of paper sitting on the counter. "Just Joshua. You'll see, you'll have fun." She smiled, and he whined helplessly, looking towards his dad who wasn't even watching them.

There was a moment of quiet as Tyler dejectedly watched his mother enter in the number and pull the phone up to her ear. 

"Oh, hi, Joshua," she greeted in a cheery voice, to which his first death came. Unfortunately, it was only the figurative one.

•.•.•

Tyler really didn't want to admit it, but he was having fun.

Originally he was loathing for Josh to come over after his mother invited him; he'd hid in his room for all of the ten minutes it took the boy to get there, just groaning and complaining to himself how horrible this would turn out.

But it didn't.

Somehow they ended up having a good time, even though it took a good half an hour for Josh to get over his awkward, eager smiling and for Tyler to stop with his equally as awkward mumbling so they could just relax.

They'd spent time walking outside where the rain had turned to just a drizzle, not much conversation being made other than a mumble here and there. But when they returned to Tyler's house, something changed. Tyler didn't know what, but suddenly there was just so much energy. They'd laugh at stupid jokes his father made, they'd see who could climb the stairs fastest, they'd see if they could ride a pillow down the steps.. Everything that little kids normally did together on their playdates.

But these two were almost adults, and they were having just as much fun.

Maybe the two slices of cake they'd each both had had something to do with the sudden burst of excitement in both of them, but neither boy seemed to mind the sugar high. It was like reliving the past for Tyler, like walking on to his old elementary's playground.

        But of course, all sugar highs end in a crash, and when that inevitable crash came things turned quiet. Comfortable, but quiet.

        They were laying in Tyler's room, on the dark oaken wood, bundled in fuzzy blankets to keep them warm in the cool room. Josh was lying on his back, calculating dark eyes scanning the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars Tyler had sticky-tacked to his ceiling while the boy with the chestnut hair attempted to take a nap, eyes closed and plump lips slightly parted. 

Occasionally you could hear a dog yipping outside, or the sound of children laughing as they danced around with one another. It gave him a sense of his old home in Columbus, but this town, Velli, was nowhere near the friendliness and hospitality as his hometown. 

        All the bad vibes he'd gotten from Josh had filtered away. Now that they were both stripped from the formalities, the church setting, the lack of knowing what to say, he seemed like a normal kid. A normal kid, who lived in a freakish town, but Tyler didn't want to offend Joshua or his heritage. That'd be mean. And he wasn't mean.

        "Can you turn the light on?" Tyler slurred as his cheek was pressed against the hard floor, dark eyelashes pressed against his rosy cheeks and fluffy blanket pulled up to his chin. 

His room was beginning to grow dark with the outside world; the sound of his family's talking while eating dinner downstairs was filtering through to his room, albeit their conversation and laughter was muffled. He and Josh had been excused from joining the meal seeing as they'd pigged out with the cake and ice cream earlier.

        The older boy took a moment, grunting a "sure" as he forced himself to stand. Still wrapped like a loose burrito in the fabric, his bare feet gently pattered on the floor as he flipped the light on. It was about seven in the evening now, and while the summer sun was yet to completely set, it was getting lower in the sky.

Long silence enveloped them once again, drool running down the side of the scrawny teen's cheek and pooling on the floor. It was gross. Josh saw, but said nothing as he sat down beside the semi-sleeping boy, legs crossed and mocha eyes focused on the ceiling light, then on the music sheets scattered on the floor.

Carefully, almost as if he was fearful Tyler wouldn't appreciate him touching the paper, he leaned forward and pulled them out from underneath the pink teddy bear sitting atop them. He said nothing about the stuffed animal, eyes now scanning over the music sheet for the song titled 'Hallelujah'. He only knew that for the bold title at the top of the page.

He broke the silence. "Piano?" 

"Hm?" Tyler didn't open his eyes, nor did he shift from his lying down position. He was teetering like a petal on the edge of slumber. 

Turning his head and seeing the sight of his newfound friend had Joshua smiling softly. "You play piano?" He spoke quieter, not wanting to pull Tyler too far away from the edge. He deserved some sleep. 

The brunette resulted to nodding slightly, too weary for much more. "It's fun," he mumbled, barely coherent.

"I bet." Joshua hesitantly patted Tyler's head, setting the music back underneath the vibrantly colored little stuffed animal. It was an odd gesture that had Tyler furrowing his brows, but he didn't know that. "You wanna just sleep?" he spoke up after clearing his throat.

"Oh, no no no no. I can stay up with you for awhile longer."Tyler frowned, but his eyes of molten amber didn't show still, contradicting his words.

Really the brunette would like to sleep. He'd like to slip off and be completely engulfed in fuzzy feelings and warm sensation as he was whisked off to whatever world sleep was. But Joshua was his guest, and he didn't want the boy to walk out the door just because he couldn't keep these damn eyes open. 

Moving to lay on his side beside Tyler, Joshua let out a sigh. Not knowing that the brunette had nightmares of him touching his eyes, he carefully used his index and middle finger to pull the top lid of Tyler's left eye open. 

The chocolate orb was dead for a moment, staring at the ground before looking towards Josh. Tyler smiled with a forced giggle. The elder didn't notice it was forced. "It's fine, Ty, I don't mind going home if you need to rest." 

Carefully shoving Josh's hand back, Tyler moved to lay on his back. He stretched his bony arms up, blanket falling off of his thin frame and shirt riding up to expose the tan flesh of his stomach. He didn't catch Josh staring, rubbing at his eyes and trying to shake the mental image of Josh slipping his finger into his eye. 

He held his forearms over his forehead, taking in a deep breath and staring at the ceiling before directing his attention to Joshua, who immediately peeled his eyes away from the boy's exposed torso. Tyler furrowed his brows, but didn't mention anything about it. "I thought you were spending the night?" he questioned, brows still knit together, but this time not in disgust of having caught the boy staring at his body, but in confusion.

With flushed cheeks, Josh's shoulders rose and fell with a shrug. Tyler could see his muscles were tense from how he gestured with his hands; he subtly pulled his shirt down as the older boy spoke. "I wasn't planning to, but if you want I can."

Tyler's mouth slipped with a snort."You're not gonna eat me alive in the night?" He'd been making jokes about it all day in his head and earlier with his mother; this time it just kind of missed the filter between his brain and mouth. 

Really, he'd expected Josh to roll his eyes or snicker, but when the boy gave a look of disbelief, brows furrowed and mouth slightly open, he was confused.

"Shi-oot," the brunette caught himself. "I'm sorry, that was just a joke."

Josh's lips pursed together with a shy grin, expression overall softening. "Oh, I, uh-" he chortled, but it didn't seem tense like his words. "I know. I just- yeah, for a moment I thought maybe you actually thought.." he trailed off, dark eyes focusing on the blanket wrapped around his muscular frame. "It's all good."

Just when Tyler was starting to like this kid, poison begins to leak from him again, all of it being taken in by Tyler's senses and dumped in the pit of his stomach.

"You're welcome to share my bed with me," Tyler offered, ignoring the venom churning in his stomach. "Or if that's gonna make you feel.. Weird.. I can always sleep next to you on the floor." 

Josh pondered the options for a moment, his cheeks puffing as he held air in them and being blown out in a raspberry before he clicked his tongue. "The bed seems comfier."

Tyler grinned. "Sick."

"Sick."

Tyler ignored that he felt sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the feedback so far!  
> I'll try to update this around two or three times a week, as long as writer's block doesn't hit me


	3. iii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler can't evade seeing or hearing about Josh, even in his own home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pardon the long break, I went on vacation.  
> This is more of a filler chapter, but it is longer so I hope y'all enjoy

Sleeping didn't happen for Tyler that night. He'd like to say it was because the moon was too bright filtering into his window or something was stressing him out, but he went to bed terrified of Joshua, the boy who's peacefully slumbering body was pressed up against his. 

They were sharing body heat, and even if they were only back to back, Tyler felt overheated. He believed that in the night, if he dare let his eyes rest, Josh'd be sure to wake up and choke him. He didn't like that idea, really. The thought of the teen's strong hands wrapped around his scrawny little throat, feeling the blood vessels in his head and face pulsing against his skin, just begging Tyler to get the psychopath who was suffocating him away- It made him shiver, even if his whole body was burning with heat.

The night did tick by, however; he watched the moon set behind the silhouettes of trees in the distance. Dark hues of chocolate watched as shade by shade, the sky grew brighter, lighter, a few cotton puffs floating in the sky reflecting the golden sun that was rising where Tyler's bay window didn't face.

He was tired; his eyelids slipped closed when he started hearing a dog outside begin yipping for no apparent reason. Already he was beginning to feel sleep claim his mind. Until he felt Josh shuffle; his eyes went wide at that. He turned his head hesitantly, seeing that Josh'd turned; they were no longer back to back, but chest to back. 

Really, he's gotten to know Joshua better and he liked him. He did. There was always that hint of eeriness to him that kept Tyler from being completely relaxed at a time like now. 

Silence was loud in the room; eventually Tyler returned his focus to the slowly lightening sky again. His ears caught on to the sound of a redwing blackbird; it made him smile. He always loved hearing the birds in the morning. It calmed him, even when he had a potential killer who was unconsciously snuggling into him right beside him. 

Tyler tried to ignore the fact that Josh was getting way closer than he thought someone would. The teen's nose was buried in the back of his neck; he could feel the steady breaths the sleeping boy exhaled wisping down his sensitive skin and the cold steel of his nose ring pressing against his hot skin.

Their legs, thankfully, hadn't tangled together, but Josh seemed awful close. The brunette was beginning to think he might just have to allow their limbs to tangle to avoid being pushed off onto the wooden floor below. Josh had plenty of room in the bed, like Tyler once had, yet his sleeping mind decided to chase the small amount of heat Tyler could provide.

A huff escaped the boy's lips when Josh moved closer, close enough that the older boy's head of messy, dark hair was pressed against Tyler's neck, shuffling more as he adjusted himself to curl up more. It wasn't anything too weird. At least, that's what Tyler told himself. Maybe Josh was just cold. Or maybe he just was clingy. 

He was wishing they'd decided to sleep on the floor in separate sleeping bags.

But Josh'd leave after breakfast in the morning, and that'd leave Tyler to climb back into his cozy bed and gain back all the energy he'd waisted worrying of what Joshua could do to him in his sleep. 

Tyler hadn't even noticed his eyes had closed and that he'd dozed off until he heard a phone's ringtone go off. It wasn't his. 

Both boy's flinched at the sound; Joshua sniffed as he swiftly sat up from where he'd been pressed against Tyler, groaning as he climbed to the end of the bed and reached over to grab his jeans; he'd slept in his boxer briefs. He pulled the phone out of the back pocket, glancing at the screen before holding it up to his ear with a groggy "hello."

Tyler sat up slowly, leaning against the head of the bed and curiously watching as Josh turned to face him, sitting in the middle of the bed. 

"I just woke up," his raspy, tired voice replied to the inaudible mumbling Tyler picked up on the phone. It sounded like the boy's father. "No. I think we're good right now." 

Tyler could only imagine what they were talking about. For all he knew Joshua could be talking about their plan to drag Tyler off into the night.

But he remained composed, just watching his new half-friend talk with his father and fidget with his messy hair. 

After a series of simple answers and bored responses, Joshua pulled the phone away from his ear, setting it on the bed and shifting so he could lay down next to Tyler, who was still sitting up. 

"My pa just wondered if we wanted to go out on a hike in the woods," he mumbled, his voice still groggy as he held his arm over his eyes. 

Tyler nodded. But then frowned. "I would've liked that," he mumbled, glancing out of the bay window and eyeing the bush of forest trees at the edge of the town.

There was quiet. But the brunette could tell Josh was about to say something by the way his lips twitched. He was calculating, probably. Coming up with an excuse as to why he didn't want to go. That wasn't bad, just- Tyler wanted to explore the trees he hadn't had a chance to look around yet.

Finally, Joshua took a deep breath. "I don't like it out there," he murmured, voice quiet, shy, his arm removing from his face. "Makes me feel uncomfortable, y'know? Like I'm being watched."

Tyler nodded again. He understood that feeling well, every time he stepped out onto the street, strolled into the church, or walked into the little convenience store, he felt he was being stared down. Like everyone in this town had an eye for him- like they all had this twisted fantasy of tying him down and do unimaginable things to him. Choking him, setting his hands alight in flames, removing his eyes and poking around in the empty sockets left over- disgusting things. Things that had his gut clenching.

"Do you ever go out there alone?" Tyler questioned, genuinely curious. He wanted to go out into the forest, but if it turned out he had a risk of being eaten alive by a pack of wild animals, he didn't think he'd like to take a lonely stroll. 

Joshua snorted, but there was no smile to him. He just shook his head, biting the inside of his cheek. "Not unless my parents force me to or I'm desperate to get away from them," he mumbled. "It's dangerous, really. A lot of snakes and spiders you don't want to bite you either." 

Tyler hated spiders; he shuddered of the thought of being swarmed by the damned little things while just trying to take a walk. "Sounds gross."

"It is," Josh snickered, carefully getting off of the squeaking bed and pulling the shirt he'd borrowed from Tyler over his head. 

The brunette had to will himself not to stare at his muscular body; he was really trying not to make things more awkward. 

"I should get going," Joshua spoke after pulling up his jeans, fixing his shirt so it was no longer inside-out. "My parents probably want me to go out in the woods with them anyways." He looked to Tyler, but the younger couldn't tell what emotion that was lingering in his eyes. "They don't care that I don't like it."

Tyler's heart lurched a little; he furrowed his brows as he glanced to his alarm clock on the end table.

11:35 am 

It was later than he thought.

Josh's chuckle gained his attention once again. "I had fun though, Ty Guy," he grinned as he pulled the shirt over his head, one of the few genuine grins he'd ever shown so far. It wasn't forced or creepy, just a casual smile that relaxed Tyler's nerves. 

Tyler quickly remembered his manners however, despite the small part of him that was glad that Josh was leaving so he could sleep. "Wait wait," he grunted, hopping off of his bed and swiftly finding a pair of bright red basketball shorts to pull up over his underwear. 

Josh did as he said, large, mocha hues watching Tyler with interest as he hurried to pull on day clothes. "You want lunch?" the brunette offered, straightening the shirt he'd carelessly thrown on. 

"Nah, my house takes like a minute to walk to, I probably won't starve on the way over," the elder snickered, gently ruffling Tyler's already messy hair and grabbing his phone off of the bed sheets. 

Tyler smiled. It was small, but still a smile. "Alright," he sighed, holding his hands together as he didn't know what else to do with them. "If Maddie or Jay try to stop you from walking out the door just go ahead, I'll deal with them." He was kidding of course, but he figured that Joshua would know what it was like, seeing as he had younger siblings. At least, he thought he did.

Josh rolled his eyes, snorting, but grinning. 

Tyler led him out the door, with minor interference from any of his siblings seeing as Zack was still in his room, Maddie was out with her friend, and Jay was more so focused on the game of Mario Kart he was playing in the living room.

Once the door was shut, and Josh was out of the house, he huffed, stumbling to the living room and flopping down on the couch, his long legs almost kicking the controller out of Jay's hand. 

The little boy just whined, too focused on the screen to properly tell his older brother off. Not that it would matter; Tyler was already falling asleep.

•.•.•

It had been deathly quiet for a good while. Of course, Tyler lost track of how exactly long "a good while" had been, considering sleep really had a way of evading the feeling of time passing.

He felt two hands on his side, rocking him back and forth on the couch cushions and eliciting a loud whine from him as he buried his face into a pillow.

"Tyler," Zack's voice hissed, impatience practically dripping from him. 

Furrowing his brows, Tyler pushed at his younger brother's arm, hoping to get him to stop rocking him. "Stop," he growled, shouting loudly when Zack pushed hard enough to flip him over onto his back. 

"Go away," the brunette grumbled, grabbing a throw pillow and holding it over his face. 

"C'mon, you can't stay home," Zack returned the anger in his voice, leaning over the back of the couch and glaring harshly at his half-awake brother.

Of course Tyler had no idea what his brother was talking about; how could he with such vague words? He sighed."Where're you going?" Carelessly, he threw the pillow that was over his face to the side. 

"Prayer group." Zack grinned a bit when he saw his older brother sigh and roll his eyes. "Ma and Dad found out the Dun's have a group at their house for it on Wednesdays."

Tyler only groaned at that, turning back over so he was laying on his side and facing the back of the couch. He didn't feel like seeing Josh again. Sure, he seemed pretty normal during his short time at their house, but he couldn't handle Josh and his whole family. 

But then again, maybe Joshua'd be comfortable enough with him by now and they could just sit in his room and talk while the rest of the families that came studied the Bible. He couldn't tell how Josh'd act; it seemed to change on an hourly basis, but maybe one and one they could be comfortable.

"I don't wanna go," he grunted, ears picking up on the sound of skipping down the creaky, ancient steps. 

Soon enough, Tyler felt something clipping on his ear lobe; he flinched, his hand quickly reaching up and feeling for his ear until he felt the smooth, circular jewelry. Clip-on earrings.

A grin on his features, he turned once again to lay on his back; his eyes meeting his little sister. "I love 'em," he snorted, index finger and thumb feeling the smooth, singular earring on his right ear lobe. It pinched the tan skin hard enough to turn a delicate shade of pink, but Maddie liked it, so he didn't mind.

"Now you look like Josh," she teased, the matching earring in her small, dainty little hands.

Tyler blinked, his grin faltering. Did Josh have earrings? He'd never noticed them. He definitely didn't have them in when he first met him on Sunday. 

While Maddie had him shift so she could position the other piece of pale blue jewelry just right on his other ear, he glanced to Zack, who was still leaning over the back of the couch. "Josh has earrings?"

But he didn't get a response from him. The loud gasp the little girl made was enough to redirect his attention. She was pouting, but he could tell it was in more so a joking manner. "How did you not see them?" she sighed, loudly; it was amusing to hear her talk like Tyler was the younger one here. "Geez, they're like... Like... Huge."

"You saw that nose piercing right?" Zack added, eyes narrowed to slits as if he was doubting. 

Tyler rolled his eyes for the hundredth time. "Yeah."

"That thing's so cool. I'd get one if ma'd let me."

A snort was Tyler's response; he couldn't imagine Zack with a nose ring. "Good luck with getting mom to fall for that." He flinched when Maddie practically ripped off the earring, repositioning it once more and clipping it on his near-numb ear. 

Tyler grinned at her, ignoring the pain in both ears and reaching forward to button up the top few buttons of her oversized floral button up shirt. He was suspicious of where she'd gotten it, but he didn't care as long as she didn't get mud on it.

"What time is the prayer group thingy?" he finally questioned once Zack had taken a seat on the lounge chair next to the sofa.

The younger shrugged. "Six-ish. I think. I dunno, but it's five thirty right now." He paused. "I think."

Tyler sighed again. He really, really didn't feel like getting up. But he forced himself to, grumbling something inaudible as he lazily stood up from the couch. Blood rushed to his head, making his vision turn black and steps become wobbly, but it only took a few seconds for him to be stable again.

He had to get ready to see the Dun's home.


	4. iv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh opens his doors too wide and Tyler just wants to take a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit an inspiration spike and I've actually got the next two chapters made. Not edited, but made, so hopefully I can update again this weekend.

Tyler shouldn't have this on his mind right now. Really, he should be thinking of how interesting the lesson is, or how cute the Dun's dog is, but he can't just disregard all these morbid thoughts.

Prayer group had begun what felt like hours ago, and here he was, sitting on a small sofa and crushed hip to hip with the boy he had mixed feelings about. They got to stay in with the adults in the living room while the younger children, such as his siblings, played out in the yard with Jim, their golden retriever pup.

Tyler would be envious of them and cursing his age and the fact that he was the youngest in a room of compete strangers save his parents and Joshua had it not been that he was imagining how horrible this could end.

This house had a decor similar to the all the homes in the neighborhood, except that the Dun's went to some work to make it seem all the more out of a horror film. It was all in the furniture. Candles were lit on window sills, small, yet old looking chandeliers hanging from the ceiling- a very Victorian decor. 

Somehow the interior only fueled Tyler's awful imagination.

He could imagine the chandelier in the center of the room crashing to the floor, crushing where Pastor Dun was talking to the group of families. Maybe Josh'd get tired and slam his head back, only to crack the window behind him and leaving a pool of blood on Tyler'd shoulder. Perhaps everyone here was actually a vampire, including his own family, and they'd end up leaving tonight with his wiry, pale corpse laying against the wall. 

Something had to go wrong. He felt that it was inevitable, especially with how Josh just kept staring. Tyler would return the gaze, they'd stare for a moment, and Josh'd look away with a smile and a rosy pigment in his cheeks, only to look back again sometime later for the brunette to regain eye contact once more. The same cycle kept happening, again and again. 

Tyler thought it seemed venomous. Like the older boy kept glancing to him and laughing in his head how clueless the boy was to what was going to happen. But dammit, Tyler was going to be ready. If they turned out to be vampires, he was prepared to sprint out of the home, and use his parents car to go back to his real home back in Columbus. He had a blueprint forming in his mind, just in case that scenario came true.

Mindfully, he licked his lips before sinking his top row of teeth into his bottom lip, muffling a sigh. His parents seemed so intrigued by the talk going on, and he wanted to scream. Mainly because, when he turned his head to the side to eye Mr. Dun, he saw those mocha eyes staring at him again in his peripheral.

Really, he was trying not to return the gaze. His eyes flicked nervously to Joshua, then back to the older's father, hoping that'd give him the idea to cut out his staring. 

It didn't.

They were already crushed together, considering there were two men on the same couch. But somehow Josh leaning his head against Tyler's shoulder didn't seem to be a result of the close quarters. His heart quickened and eyes widened; he was tempted to shout at him to fuck off, but instead, in a panicked manner, met his mother's eyes.

She smiled softly, and Tyler just knew she thought that this was a result of them being close friends. They'd begin the walk home in an hour and she'd probably tell him it means Joshua trusts him, but no. Tyler'd given him no reason to do this. 

But he let it slide, lips twitching almost to frown as he kept his composure and tried to even his breathing again.

Joshua seemed fine though. Tyler glanced to his shoulder, and the boy seemed to be eyeing his father with either rapid attention, or horrible dullness. It was a very wide eyed stare; it could mean anything, especially with how the boy had a talent to hide the fact that he had emotions to his eyes. Or maybe he didn't even have emotions.

Joshua could be just a spider that got stuck in a human body, void of all feeling, care, compassion.. It didn't seem likely though. One on one, he seemed to be normal. Just another kid like Tyler who put up a front to fit in with the town's creepy vibe. That or he just was an outstanding actor when he was stuck with the brunette. 

"Come with me upstairs real quick?" 

Tyler flinched harshly; he'd been so wrapped up in staring at the faded black carpet that he hadn't realized that Josh's breath was on his ear.

His words were quiet, and his eyes were trained on his father. Tyler knew how he felt, probably exhausted from the long speech and just needing to break away. He didn't want to come, but he knew he needed a rest as well. Never mind it'd probably been hardly thirty minutes of the preaching. Even if Josh really was just going to harvest his guts in the upstairs hallway, at least he could get some shut eye. 

"Do I get to sleep?" he murmured a response, putting on the best playful grin he could muster. Seeing himself in the mirror, he would've thought that he was smiling for an overbearing aunt.

Josh just smirked though, causing Tyler's grin to falter. He couldn't ask anything more, however, as the older forced him to his feet so they could both get up. When they were given glances, he simply pardoned it as him showing Tyler where the bathroom was.

Of course, the brunette could see his mother just smiling. She probably suspected the two had some sort of plan to just hang out. And they probably were going to. That is, until Tyler was thrown out the window or hung with scratchy rope on the chandelier. However that could hold his weight.

After leaving the room and stepping into the foyer, they rushed up the steps, but quietly, as neither wanted to attract any more attention now that Josh's father had resumed the lesson.

The older held the door to what Tyler assumed was his room open, and the brunette thanked him as he stepped in.

It was a nice room. The one place in the home where Victorian furniture was absent. Save for the chandelier, but other than that, there was no other piece that gave him the feeling of horror. 

The walls were painted a deep blue, the floors lain with a type of dark wood, making it overall look nicer than the rest of the house who's walls were painted either eggshell or a sickening shade of dark crimson. 

A rather elegant looking queen sized bed, decorated with a large comforter, was against the wall; Tyler couldn't help but be jealous of its size. There was a bookshelf as well, small and hanging on the wall, and the rest of the room was what you would expect. 

While Tyler was curiously eyeing the room, fiddling with his bony fingers and the buttons on his floral button up shirt, Josh was just leaning against the now closed door, eyes wide and staring at the floor.

"He's nuts," Joshua snorted, making the brunette flinch harshly as he'd been examining an empty candle holder sitting on a simple oak desk beside the older's bed. 

Tyler blinked, setting the holder back in its place and eyeing the other with confusion. "Who?"

"My pa." The response was instant, a hint of ire to it. "Did you hear him? Just- just spouting nonsense?" He moved to lazily fall onto his bed, burying his face in the pillow.

Tyler didn't know how to respond. Mainly because he hadn't been paying attention to the pastor. For the second time, he couldn't tell Josh he knew what his father had been preaching about. 

But he didn't know what to do either. They hardly knew each other, and Joshua was acting so casual, trusting. It scared Tyler. "What was he saying?" he questioned quietly, adding as much sympathy to his voice as possible even though he was still confused.

Josh turned, laying on his side and holding out his hand. It took the younger to realize what he wanted, nervously taking his hand and allowing the stronger teen to pull him down to sit on the mattress, not letting go of Tyler's hand. "About all the... Y'know.. Homophobic stuff he was spouting. It's bullshit."

"Oh." Tyler's palm was sweaty and clammy in Josh's; he carefully untangled their fingers and wiped his hand on his black jeans. "I wasn't actually paying attention. Again." 

Josh just stared, dull, eyes not giving hint to a particular emotion. Tyler was just confused as he leaned against the head of Joshua's bed, resting his ears from the loud talking downstairs. He wasn't very invested by this conversation, more interested in trying to determine what calming smell this was that filled Josh's room.

"I wish they'd be accepting," the older muttered, his voice shy and tentative as he carefully eyed Tyler.

But the brunette offered not much more than a smile of sympathy at first; he too was unsure of the words. It seemed to him like Josh was beginning to let his doors open to Tyler just a little too easily. They'd hardly spent a whole day together.

"I'm sorry," he apologized hesitantly after silence ate up the room; he didn't like it. It didn't feel right if there wasn't some sort of noise besides the muffled talking downstairs. 

Josh's gaze didn't leave the young boy, however. It was an odd thing, but Tyler was starting to adjust himself to things being odd in this town. Still, he couldn't help the feeling that the eyes glued to his face were penetrating his façade and seeing right through to his fear. 

Carefully, Josh took a deep breath, tearing his eyes from the other's to turn onto his back and stare up at his ceiling, eyeing the chandelier in the center. "Yeah," he muttered. 

Tyler had let his eyes slip shut after that, hoping to rest them as he needed to get his mind off of things. He'd thought Joshua was done talking, but clearly, he was wrong. 

"Y'know, I used to have a boyfriend," the older spoke quietly, sorrow laced in his tone. 

Tyler almost choked on his own spit at that; his eyes opened swiftly and looked to Joshua, whose face was unreadable. 

A frown tugged on the older's lips, presumably at the brunette's reaction; his eyes still staring at the ceiling. "We'd probably still be together too if nobody'd found out." 

Tyler didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to comfort Josh; part of him believed he was just spilling all his guts to get all these sorrows off his mind. It was all unexpected.

"Did they force you two to split?" Tyler just barely spoke in a whisper, furrowing his brows.

There was a quick moment of silence; it cause the brunette to look to Joshua with interest and confusion. There was a hesitancy to the boy, his large, mocha hues for once sporting a calculating look, thinking.

"They practically chased his family out of town." Josh met Tyler's eyes and quickly looked away again. "Got everyone riled up.. Spread all these- stories about me and him. I don't know where they went, they just left."

"How old..?"

"That happened like two years ago. I was probably around fifteen or sixteen.. He was.." Joshua narrowed his eyes, glancing to Tyler. "older."

Tyler felt like a schoolgirl listening to gossip. While he had sympathy for Josh, he also found himself highly invested in the story now. Drama, of course.

"How old?" he asked, masking his intrigue with a calm voice.

Josh didn't seem so keen on saying; he stared at Tyler for a moment before speaking up. "I think... He was almost thirty, so maybe twenty nine or twenty eight?"

The brunette's eyes widened. "That's..."

"I know it was dumb," Josh interjected before the other even had a chance to continue, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He swiftly settled down. "It's just- he was an adult, and he seemed to care about me."

Tyler didn't understand where Josh was coming from. He'd never dated anyone other than a fling in ninth grade with a girl in tenth; he didn't know how Josh could've fallen for someone so much older. "Didn't you say he left with his family?" he breathed, replaying Josh's words.

Josh looked guilty then, but he nodded. Tyler didn't need to ask anymore questions. He understood it. Maybe not entirely, but he could get a good idea of what that family consisted of. Probably a wife and a child or two.

While Tyler didn't need to ask anymore questions, he had just one more, and it was burning him with curiosity.

"Did you two ever-?" he trailed off, nodding his head to suggest his thoughts. "Y'know."

This time Joshua was the one to choke on his own spit; he sent an odd look Tyler's way. "What, you're talking about- sex?" 

Tyler felt guilty. That was an odd question, to ask Josh something so personal. But he's the one who started spilling his guts, so it was Josh's fault in the first place. His lack of response was all the older needed however.

"I- I mean- yeah..." He cleared his throat, face burning deep red. "That's kinda an odd question." He was chuckling awkwardly; Tyler felt bad. 

"Did you ever have a relationship, Ty Guy?"

Tyler quickly perked up, wanting to seem chipper for Joshua and focus the spotlight off of him. "Nah. Never really liked anyone or had the courage to ask them out."

"Oh." Josh grinned; Tyler couldn't tell if it was forced or not. "You'll find someone some day. You're handsome." 

The compliment had Tyler smiling, not even registering that the compliment was coming from a gay man. "Thank you," he murmured shyly, smile wide and digging into his rosy cheeks. 

Nobody besides his mother had ever called Tyler handsome. It felt nice to be complimented like that; he was flattered, especially when he'd never personally been too horribly fond of his body and looks.

Josh smiled softly, taking up that same 'normal kid' behavior he had with Tyler yesterday. It really was something about getting him one and one. 

And comfortable. 

"You wanted to sleep, didn't you?" Joshua questioned after a moment of silence, watching Tyler as he fiddled with his skeletal fingers. 

Tyler looked down beside him at the other, shrugging. "How much time do we have left?"

The older boy mimicked the action of the shrug. "Another hour or so."

The brunette took a moment to ponder his choices. He could either-  
A., go downstairs and wish away his existence again   
B., force himself to stay awake and make barely coherent conversation with Josh  
or C., take a nap on this lovely, large ass bed. 

Something about the last choice appealed to the boy.

"I'll sleep," he breathed as he shifted to lay down on his stomach, grinning slightly as he buried his head in a fluffy pillow. 

A chuckle belonging to Joshua resonating in his ear; the brunette didn't miss the gentle ruffle to his hair before he felt the bed shift as the older laid down as well. 

"I'll wake you when they're done," Joshua whispered, too close to his ear for Tyler's comfort; he was too groggy to complain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kind comments!   
> I love hearing what you think and feedback so any of it makes me super happy


	5. v

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler's tired and nobody will leave him alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow thank you all for the kind words!  
> It made me so happy when I got on to update  
> Just so you all know, this is more of a filler chapter

        It shocked Tyler that he was able to sleep in the home of the creepiest family in the creepiest town. He went to sleep not even thinking of being murdered in his slumber, not even worrying if he'd wake up and Joshua'd be ready to stab his guts with a dagger.

        He just slept without concern.

        However, he was awoken by the loud sound of laughter and chatter downstairs, signifying the adults were moving around, talking, and probably some of the children were coming inside as well. Prayer group was finally ending.

        Tyler groaned loudly, rubbing his eyelids until he saw stars in his vision. His fists fell from his face; he was left staring at the ceiling through bleary eyes. Finally, after a deep breath and long sigh, he trend on his side and reached out to tap the screen of Josh's phone, which was sitting on the nightstand, and saw the time. 

        9:15 pm

        He groaned, turning over to wake up Joshua. Really, it was kinda dumb; this was the boy's house, he could sleep as long as he wanted. Tyler didn't have to wake him to say, "hey, I'm leaving so you can sleep." That didn't register in Tyler's mind though, and didn't matter anyways, as Josh wasn't there.

        For a good moment, he just stared at the empty spot behind him, no particular thought running through his mind as he blinked. 

        Finally, a loud yawn escaping his pink lips, he forced himself to roll off of the bed and onto his feet, no matter how much his body begged to lay back down. 

        "Hey, Josh?" Tyler called out once he'd opened the door to the boy's room, brows furrowed and eyes heavy.

        It wasn't like Tyler was familiar with this home; he didn't have a clue as to where Joshua could be. He could be upstairs still, behind any of the closed doors in the small hallway, or he could be downstairs with the adults again. 

        Tyler decided it'd probably be more polite to not look through every room of a home that wasn't his just because he couldn't find someone. Instead, he quietly left the room, walking down the creaky stairs and making his way to the living room to find his parents. 

        They seemed to be having a good time, his mother and father smiling brightly and chattering away to Josh's parents, who seemed equally as interested in the conversation. Jay was sticking by his mother's side, playing one of his kiddie games on her phone while Zack and Maddison were much more interested in thumb wrestling with one another while sitting on the couch he and Josh had been sitting in at the beginning of prayer group. 

        It almost felt as if Tyler was an outsider to his family for once; they looked perfectly content doing what they were doing and he was just shuffling to stand beside his father, eyes heavy and tired with nothing he wished to do. 

        His presence standing beside his dad, however, sparked conversation he hadn't been prepared for. 

        "Did you take a nap?" Mr. Dun chortled gruffly, snapping the brunette from his important staring off into space.

        He hadn't processed what he'd said yet. "Hm? Oh. Yeah, Josh and I talked for a bit and then just... Fell asleep I guess." He would've loved to mention how odd the talk was, how he learned Joshua'd been an accidental homewrecker and was gay. Interesting stuff.

        "I can't find him now though," Tyler added.

        The adult man nodded as he glanced around himself, eyeing the people who were for some reason still chatting even though this was all over now. Somehow, even just a group of people talking sounded creepy in this town. It was so monotone in Tyler's head, except for a forced laugh occasionally. Of course, here and there he could notice people being normal. But they were a rare few. 

        "He was down here a bit ago," the elder man mumbled as he looked around, returning his dull gaze to Tyler with an unsettling grin.

         The brunette glanced to his parents; they were just listening it seemed, although his mother was eyeing his siblings now. How did they not catch on to any of this odd behavior? 

        He cleared his throat, catching eyesight of Mr. Dun again. "I figured he'd be." 

        "Hun, you could've just gone back to sleep. You look exhausted," the pastor's wife chirped in, gaining the young boy's attention. Arms crossed over her lavender shirt, she gestured to the stairs, causing the many bracelets on her wrist to move and make little clinking noises. "Spending the night wouldn't have hurt."

        The mention made Tyler's heart clench and his mind start screaming at him that he better not get swooped up into the mess it'd inevitably cause if he slept over. This family clearly was eerie; he didn't want to find out why by being cooked alive for their dinner tomorrow. 

        Thankfully, his mother spoke up while he was caught up in a lack of response. "Ty just needs some downtime I think," she spoke calmly, smiling softly. "Thank you for the offer though, Laura. He's just been grumpy lately."

        "I'm not grumpy, I'm just tired," the brunette interjected, frowning at his mother. She'd probably tell Mrs. Dun all about his fear of this place next, and the whole town would come after him because he found them out. 

        Josh's mother chuckled, kissing her husband's cheek and linking their arms with a bright smile at all times. "Well anytime you and Joshua would like to hangout, you can always come over here." 

        Tyler grinned nervously, thanking her quietly.

        A few more minutes of small talk was spread out between the four adults and the teen, Tyler mostly just listening as they had more "adult stuff" to talk about according to his dad. The adult stuff turned out to be asking about how the Joseph family liked it here so far, asking about the weather tomorrow, and asking about when the Urie family, Tyler's only true friend Brendon's family, would be back from their vacation. Hearing they wouldn't be back until Saturday had the brunette mentally sighing.

        Josh wouldn't come bother him if he was goofing off with Brendon, a normal kid like Tyler who was probably only normal due to the fact that his family traveled often, everywhere, getting exposed to how people actually acted.

        The first week they'd been here, i.e., last week, the Uries had come and visited them since they were right beside them. They all just seemed like regular people, really; Tyler and the raven-haired teen had clicked. Sadly, every other family here was just creepy.

        But that wasn't an issue on Tyler's mind; they were heading home now, stepping down off of the porch of the Dun's house. 

        It took barely a minute to get home, but his parents had to cram conversation in that minute. 

        "Did you have fun?" his mother asked, her shoes clicking loudly on the sidewalk. 

        Tyler shrugged.

        "I had fun!" Maddie chirped when Tyler didn't give a verbal answer. "I love that puppy they have. He's so cute and fluffy and nice."

        The brunette wanted to thank Maddie for starting a domino effect; Zack started talking about what type of dog he wanted their parents to get for their family and Jay began spouting out names for each breed his older brother mentioned. 

        At least he didn't have to divulge the odd story Joshua had revealed to him.


	6. vi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brendon's back and Tyler's happy for awhile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a rough day so I apologize if this chapter is just as rough, but thank you all for the support nonetheless!

"Oh my god, I thought I was gonna suffocate in the damn car. They had it stuffed with all sorts of shit and none of it was even necessary, just a buncha' souvenirs from places we've already been to."

Tyler listened with rapid interest to Brendon rambling on and on about the things that sucked about their trip to Canada, both boys playing hopscotch on the side walk. It was childish, yes, but Maddie and her friend Elaine had made it with chalk and weren't using it, so they took it over while the girls were playing in the yard.

It was Monday afternoon; the Uries had returned Saturday, but they skipped Sunday church to rest from the long trip. Now though, the sun was hidden behind a thin layer of grey clouds as usual, but it was hot; the boys were dressed in shorts and tank tops, shoes not on their person at the moment.

Tyler was snickering with every complaint Brendon gave, the raven-haired boy rolling his dark eyes every now and then and making wild expressions and hand gestures, almost causing himself to fall when it was his turn to do the jumps.

Brendon shot Tyler a look as the brunette stopped midway through his go at the game and began doubling over with laughter over Brendon's imitation of a lady's thick Canadian accent. He was laughing so hard, that no sound was escaping his mouth. 

"I'm serious! That's what she sounded like!" Brendon snorted, trying but failing to hide his smile as he pushed Tyler's shoulder. The push seemed to dislodge something in Tyler; not only did he stumble and almost fall on the cement, his laughter became audible in wheezes and giggles. "You're so fucking childish," Brendon sighed, beginning his turn. 

Tyler snorted embarrassingly loudly, covering his mouth with his hand; his smile was so wide his eyes were squinted. Once he calmed down enough, still giggling, he retorted. "Me? Childish? I didn't just mimic an old lady's Canadian accent."

"Would you prefer I would've recorded her?" Brendon snapped, his own laughter beginning to build up. "C'mon, Ty, it was a good reenactment."

Tyler wheezed. "No it wasn't!"

"Oh sure," Brendon snorted, rolling his eyes and finishing the last two squares. "C'mon, loser, your turn."

Tyler mimicked his action of rolling his eyes, but frowned when he offered the game. "It needs more squares, this is too easy," he sighed kicking at the chalk and rubbing some off with his toe.

"Go get some chalk then."

Tyler sneered, glancing to the bucket sitting on the grass of his family's yard. He shrugged, once again kicking at the chalk. "You wanna go do something else?" he offered, grabbing his sandals from where they'd left them on the sidewalk and sliding his feet into them.

"I wanna go in the woods, but someone's a pussy and thinks there's an opening to hell in them," Brendon taunted, gently nudging the boys shoulder as he too put his flip flops on. 

Tyler just returned his teasing with a shy smile, glancing towards the dense forest in the not-too-far distance. He wouldn't be surprised if there was actually a stairway to hell in the woods. "It might rain if we go out there," he explained, chocolate eyes making their way to the darkening clouds hanging above them.

"So what," Brendon scoffed, still smiling. He was nice, but sometimes he was a little pushy on the younger boy. "We'll just take a short walk. And if it starts raining we'll turn around. It's not that bad out there."

Tyler made an odd face at the suggestion. He used to love exploring wooded areas, but that was back when he didn't feel that the surrounding area was haunted by some putrid demon.

"I mean, it's better than doing nothing," the brunette chuckled falsely, feigning calmness just so he didn't turn out to be an annoying burden.

Brendon grinned, tugging Tyler's arm and pulling him along as he strolled across the street and onto the opposite sidewalk, leading him towards the direction of the tall trees. "Trust me, it's so beautiful out there," he rambled as the walked, obviously sensing the hesitancy to Tyler. "We've gotta stay on the path because animals and shit, but I never really listen to that rule."

Tyler frowned. "We're staying on the path this time," he more so demanded than questioned, causing his friend to snicker.

"I know I know," he assured. "there's an old church building at there though, and whenever you wanna, you gotta let me show you it. It's run down but it's the perfect place for a horror movie's setting."

Shivers crawled up the lanky boy's spine at the suggestion, he shook his head. "Sounds gross."

Brendon looked at him with a smirk, leaning closer to whisper. "I found a pentagram in there once."

The look on the younger's face had the raven-haired teen laughing loudly; disturbing the peace of the houses they were passing by and causing a few dogs to start barking at the two through their enclosed fences. 

"I'm kidding, Ty! Oh my god, did you actually believe that? You're so paranoid," he breathed, chortling uncontrollably as Tyler furrowed his brows and frowned, cheeks gone rosy from embarrassment.

Brendon knew all about Tyler's distaste for the people and the town itself since day one, but he still teased him about it. While the older wasn't as suspicious of his community, him and the brunette both agreed on a few points that were just downright disturbing. 

While the teasing could make Tyler grumpy, it was much better company than what Joshua'd offered him last week. Odd touches, odd smiles, odd conversation- odd Josh. 

"We're skipping the spooky church," the boy grumbled, punching Brendon's shoulder and ripping a loud, dramatic 'ow' from him.

Brendon just giggled like a maniac, rubbing his bare arm. "Darn, I had a whole trap waiting for you in there too," he sighed, sarcasm dripping from his voice. 

Tyler really was feeling paranoid now. Not that he often didn't feel paranoid, but it was worse now. "How about we skip the woods entirely and I go own your ass at Mario kart?" he hissed.

His cursing had Brendon gasping, covering his mouth with wide dark hues. "Baby Tyty said a swear," he practically whispered, cackling when Tyler went to punch his arm again. "Chill chill chill, let's just walk for ten minutes, and I'll stop pestering you."

"I definitely believe you," Tyler grumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes and elicting a devious snicker from his friend.

The walk to the woods took maybe a few minutes; a dirt path branched out from the road itself and led into the forest. There was no sign or even a piece of paper stapled to a tree to warn of any rules such as no litter or to stay on the path; nobody in this town who used the path hadn't been taught that already, and hardly any visitors came for there to need to be a sign.

Wearing sandals really was a horrible idea, but neither boys thought of that as they continued their stroll in the trees, Tyler waiting for a giant spider to creep out of nowhere and Brendon clearly waiting for the boy to do something ridiculous.

"See, it's pretty out here," he spoke up over the rustling of the leaves, looking upward at the canopy above them. "You just gotta be careful of going out at night and stuff."

Tyler nodded, not really in agreement, but more so in acknowledgement. "I dunno, I just get weird vibes," he sighed in defeat, glancing to the right and eyeing the leaf covered ground in front of a dead tree to the side of the path.

Both boys were quiet for a few minutes. It was a comfortable silence, the two sticking close, their eyes not as much focused in front of them as much as to the sides. Brendon called it beautiful, but Tyler saw everything as dead. Odd, considering most of the trees were very much alive, deep shades of green decorating their branches like confetti. 

The ground was damp, probably from the rain the other day that'd taken so long to reach the forest floor; Tyler got annoyed with the wet dirt getting in between his toes, rubbing against his skin and the sandal's and eventually ended up taking them off and leaving them against a tall, unmistakable birch tree to grab on their way back. 

It was much better barefoot anyways. 

"You never told me about your dreaded week away from me," the raven-haired teen spoke up, finally tearing his eyes from the left to look at his friend. 

Tyler snorted, shaking his head dismissively. For a quick second, he calculated which words were the best to use. "It was weird." 

"How so?"

It was a harder question to answer for Tyler. So many odd things had happened, such as the uncomfortable sleepover where Joshua was content only when he got to spoon the young boy in his sleep, his seemingly incessant need to touch the brunette in some way throughout the whole week, the story he'd divulged to Tyler concerning his sexuality and an older man- some very intriguing yet disturbing stuff.

"Um," Tyler hummed, clicking his tongue as he decided on what story to tell first. "You know the Dun kid? Joshua?"

Brendon nodded.

"He pretty much hung around me all week. Oh geez, I can't remember if it was Sunday or Monday, but my mom invited him over to spend the night-" he shook his head with a nervous chuckle. "He ended up like... I dunno. Cuddling me in the night. And I'm pretty sure that kid was awake by how easily he got out of bed when his phone went off."

There was a pause of interaction as Brendon processed it, making a face of near disgust as he crinkled his nose. "Yeah, he's pretty weird," he mumbled. "He might have a crush on you. Either that, or he's just being a freak."

The first suggestion had Tyler rolling his eyes. He highly doubted the Dun had a crush on him; he saw it more so as a predatory action of a serial killer. Because obviously Joshua was plotting his demise. 

Brendon must've caught on to his disbelief; he spoke up again. "Y'know he's gay, right?"

"I know," the brunette responded defensively. "He told me about that whole- dilemma awhile ago. But he's not acting like a crush, he's acting crazy."

A shrug was the initial reply from Brendon. He didn't ask anything more until he kicked a pebble on the path, as if that was his cue. "What other weird stuff is he doing to you?"

"He invites me to do stuff with him a lot," the brunette answered, discomfort clear. "Like... On Friday he invited me to come on a walk with him and his dog around town." 

A snort was not the reaction Tyler was expecting from Brendon; he shot him a look.

"That just sounds like a normal friend thing," the older chortled.

"But we aren't friends!" Tyler argued. 

Brendon shrugged once again, a cocky grin playing at the corner of his lips. "He obviously thinks so. I get being uncomfortable around him, because he's just over all fucked in the head-" Tyler nodded profusely at that statement. "-but just chill with me and I'm sure he'll leave you alone."

"Until you leave on another trip."

"Exactly."

A huff escaped Tyler plump lips, he frowned as he looked ahead of him. He'd have to deal with Joshua a lot that meant. The Uries left on 'vacation' practically every other week, which meant next week Brendon'd be'd gone, and for all he knew he'd wake up chained to a chair and thrown into a lake. He had a dream about that last night. 

Hesitantly, as Tyler was fearful of what his brain would inevitably turn into a nightmare, his doe eyes looked up to see the branches stretching out above him like veins. "I feel like he's gonna end up chopping me up for breakfast," he muttered, the gory thought flashing through his mind and making him gag.

Brendon frowned. Usually he teased Tyler about his fears, even the ones he agreed with, but when the boy's thoughts turned downright morbid, he attempted to do more than just taunt. He didn't know what to say to help his friend at first, clicking his tongue and glancing around, suddenly grabbing Tyler's arm and pointing off to the left. "Lookit, Ty, that's the old church," he announced loudly, so loudly the brunette swore he heard in echo in the trees.

The younger shivered when Brendon pulled him closer to the side of the oath, his bare feet touching twigs and leaves that'd fallen on the dirt. 

"You wanna come see it?" the raven-haired teen offered with a grin, a genuine, soft grin. But it didn't really ease Tyler's imagination, no matter how much he trusted Brendon.

"Not really," he mumbled, looking more terrified as his eyes were transfixed on the decrepit hut of a church practically twenty feet away, a few trees blurring the sight.

It wasn't very large, only the size of a one room building. However, the walls in front were completely gone, torn down it seem as the remaining off-white walls were rotting away, plants peaking up out of the equally as ruined floorboards. 

Tyler gulped. "It's creepy."

He looked to his older friend, a small smirk playing on his pink lips. "And I guess it is perfect for a horror movie."

But the other didn't acknowledge Tyler's speaking, his grip on the boys arm faltering as he stared intently at the rotting building, brows knit together and frown firm on his lips. 

Tyler was quiet, watching Brendon's look of either pure confusion, or deep concentration. It wasn't very scary; Tyler was expecting him to pull a joke or something.

He didn't though, eventually speaking. "Will you come with me over there?" he asked, eyes not leaving the hut.

"why?" 

Brendon pointed to the shack, signifying Tyler to look as well, which he did again, this time taking a closer observation. 

"There's somebody sitting in there," the older points out. You'd think he'd lower his voice or something, but no, he's still loud as ever. "Or at least- I think they're sitting. Standing. Something."

Tyler's intrigued if not frightened. He's not as scared as he would be; Brendon was acting so casual, as if this wasn't a big deal. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe neighborhood kids liked goofing off around here. "Who is it?" he asked carefully, stepping forward with his friend as he began walking off of the path and towards the ancient church, hissing when his bare foot caught on a twig or rock that was particularly pointed.

"Oh my god," Brendon sighed, sounding unimpressed as swiftly he walked closer to the building. Tyler was confused, tentatively stepping over branches and thorny bushes, ultimately taking longer to catch up with his friend.

Having been paying attention to the ground instead of in front of him, he ran into Brendon, not roughly, but just a bump. "Who is it?" he whispered, peering over to the church no more than ten feet away.

"It's the Dun boy," the older snorted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any feedback I'd love it so much because that shit makes me feel energized.
> 
> Also, please answer this, but would a Blurryface/Tyler fic be too weird for you guys if I made one?  
> I think that ship's so interesting and can go so many different paths with a story involved  
> That and there's not enough fics for it


End file.
